Venustus problem

[garywildman]

Hi everyone, ive got a slight problem & was wondering if anyone can help. Ive currently got 5 Venustus cichlids in a 150 litre tank,( ive got a 450 litre maturing at the moment ).The cichlids are all between 3inches to 7 inches long,( 4 males-1 female ).I know thats not right,it should be 1 male to 4 females,but they seem to be o.k together at the moment.The problem is my nitrates/nitrites.They seem to be very high all the time. Ive cut down there feeding to once every three days & performed 50% water changes twice a week.Ive even changed the nitrate sponge in my biofilter,but its still very high. Is there to many fish in my 150 litre tank ? or is it something else ? I would be very grateful for any advice on what to do next.Thanks.:unsure:

 

[Tony]

So 150 liters is somewhere around 40, gallons I think. This is definitely too small to have 5 venustus in. A 7" venustus should have a 6' tank, like the 450 liter tank you are tanking about (hopefully, this is a 6' long tank) or at a minimum, they should be in a 75 gallon tank temporarily.

Until the larger tank is ready, add more filtration (perhaps a large sponge) and do twice weekly 50% water changes. Having any nitrites in your tank is *VERY* bad for your fish. Additional filtration is the only way to help with this.

About your m/f ratio, this is a disaster waiting to happen. I have 2M and 1F in a heavily stocked 180 and the two 8" males are always chasing each other... not to the point of doing damage yet, but will be soon. One will most likely need to be removed here in the near future.

I can't imagine how bad 4 males will be. If you are trying to breed these fish, trade in some of your males for females. Your fish will be happier for it.

Good luck.

 

[garywildman]

Hi,thanks for the advice.Question ??? What would be good tankmates for the Venustus ? Someone,somewhere said tropheous moorii's,would that be right ?

 

[Tony]

I wouldn't put tropheus in with them. Their diets are too dissimilar. Haps are a high protein diet and tropheus are a high-veggie diet. If the tropheus eat too much of the protein, they will get a disease called Bloat. Bad stuff.

Stock with large haps, as you male venustuses will get 10"+ and will tend to thrash smaller fish. What are the dimensions of your 450 liter tank? That will dictate what you can keep in there with the venustus.

 

[breeia]

Hi:

Let me preface this by saying I don't have experience with your particular fish. In fact for the last 5 years or so I have kept shall we say less spirited chichlids . However, in my own experience changing water daily (10-30%-dependent on how much muck is in the tank each day) with the old school water vacuum and 5 gallon bucket rather than massive weekly changes has taken care of any nitrite/nitrate issues I have had. I also add plants to stabilize- not that they will last too long. After the tank stabilizes I normally don't have issues. I actually keep discus in my 55 gallon right now and added cories to eat uneaten food as discus enjoy picking from the bottom- although given your fish this is probably not recommended- but perhaps Tony can recommend something that would serve the same purpose? But basically instead of one 50% change once a week, 10-30% daily did the trick for me! If it's an overstocked tank- and let's be honest most of us have been there , daily seems to work better than weekly for me. Those with more experience with your particular fish can probably give much better advice! Best of luck!